Well----------------We dit It

How am I going to deal with this change? How, will I adapt? Will I miss it badly enough to change my mind, or find alternative mans of replacement? As it is, on October 25th, an era will come to an end.

On October 25th, our subscription to the paper will end. That may not sound like any earth shattering event. To others, its a 'what's the big deal?' thought. To me, its a sad moment. The paper has been a part of our lives for as long as I can remember and then before that. On the 25th, that comes to an end, as a subscriber anyway.

As kids growing up here on this road, the mail and paper boxes were up on the main road. Someone has to walk up there and retrieve them. That was a big deal for kids who normally weren't allowed out of the yard alone.

The paper was this magical thing. It contained the news- not interested- it contained weather- not interested, it contained the obituaries- definitely not interested, it contained the comics- now you're talking. As I got a bit older I also loved reading Lewis Grizzard's columns. It broke my heart when I read of his passing away.

 For a long time, I would read the paper front to back and then at times, I'd go back for seconds, just because.

 When Hurricane Hugo came through I saved all of the newspapers that carried articles about it, and have them stacked safely out of the way. There have been other times when someone we knew was in the paper or there was an event that was covered that we would save, either for ourselves or for others.

 Yes, the paper had other uses as well. It lined birdcages, guinea pig cages and was down for the puppies. It also made a good fire starter during the winter months and I was out of kindling.

For a while I had op-ed columns that would run. Some times once a week, some times it skipped a week. The attention from those was great fun.

But, everything must eventually come to an end.

Yes, I can get everything online. Yes, I can watch the television for news. I can find other things to read.

Still,

There will no longer be those faint ink stains on my hands. there won't be the smell of fresh ink in the air when I pull that paper out of the plastic bag. There won't be that daily ritual of pouring a cup of coffee, grab  a snack and sit down for a few quiet moments.

The memories will remain. Even the one where we used the excuse of telling our grandmother that the paper was here, so we could sneak off down into the woods and play in the creek...

yep, even that one..